Democrats' turnout in Texas primary is highest in 16 years

Democrats in deep-red Texas turned out in their largest midterm primary election numbers in more than a decade Tuesday, propelling female candidates toward challenges to entrenched male Republicans in Congress and venting their anger at President Trump in the first state primary of 2018.

The biggest question was whether Texas is just the start of what's to come nationwide. Energized Texas Democrats showed up despite the long odds this November of ousting Republicans such as U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz — who released a radio ad after clinching the GOP nomination Tuesday night, telling voters that Democratic opponent Beto O'Rourke "wants to take our guns."O'Rourke, a congressman from El Paso who won his party's primary Tuesday, has called for banning AR-15-style assault rifles in wake of last month's mass shooting at a Florida high school that killed 17 people.

Neither that tragedy nor a mass shooting at a Texas church last fall played as dominant campaign issues in Texas, but with the GOP's majority in Congress on the line this fall, Democratic voters came out in force. Republicans kept their edge in the total number of votes cast, but Democrats made significant inroads into what has been Republican dominance for decades.

Texas Democrats on 2018 Statewide Primary Candidates

Austin, TX — This evening marks the end of the candidate filing period for the 2018 election. Texas Democrats have filled the statewide ticket with diverse, bold leaders. There are primaries for U.S. Senate, Governor, Lt. Governor, Comptroller, Land Commissioner, and Railroad Commissioner.

Texas Democratic Party Chair Gilberto Hinojosa issued the following statement:

“A blue wave is rising in the Lone Star State. Texas Democrats are marching, organizing, and stepping up to serve. We are so excited to have a conversation about who we are and where we want to go as a Party.

GOP Congressman says it's time to 'purge' FBI of anti-Trump elements

Florida GOP Rep. Francis Rooney said Tuesday he wants leaders at the Department of Justice and the FBI to "purge" officials he says are politically biased against President Trump.

"People need a good, clean government," Rooney said in an interview on MSNBC.

In recent weeks, Republicans have sounded the alarm that bias within the law enforcement community is compromising Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russia's election interference and possible collusion with Trump associates.

In the interview, Rooney mentioned FBI agent Peter Strzok, whom Mueller removed from the Russia investigation after learning about texts he sent disparaging Trump. He also raised concern about Justice Department official Bruce Ohr, who was reportedly demoted for hiding ties to Fusion GPS, the company behind a notorious dossier alleging Trump's ties to Russia.

The freshman Republican from Naples said these revelations were "nerve-wracking" and went on to call the Russia probe "off-the-rails" and the work of the "deep state."

The Republican Grovelling at the White House Was an Alarm Call for 2018

The New Yorker - By John Cassidy December 22, 2017

A lot of unusual and disturbing things have happened in Washington this year. Yet for sheer bizarreness, it’s hard to think of anything that matched the scene on Wednesday afternoon on the South Lawn of the White House, where Republican leaders, celebrating the passage of their terrible tax bill, lavished praise on Donald Trump in the manner of Communist functionaries addressing Mao or Stalin.

“This has been a year of extraordinary accomplishment for the Trump Administration,” Mitch McConnell, the Senate Majority Leader, said. “Thank you, Mr. President, for all you are doing.” Paul Ryan, the House Speaker, added that passing the tax bill “could not have been done without exquisite Presidential leadership.” Senator Orrin Hatch, of Utah, spoke directly to Trump, saying, “You are one heckuva leader, and we’re all benefitting from it.” And Congresswoman Diane Black, of Tennessee, put it even more bluntly. “Thank you, President Trump, for allowing us to have you as our President,” she said.

Sanchez wins Dallas AFL-CIO endorsement

Arlington, TX, December 22, 2017 – Jana Lynne Sanchez, Democratic Candidate for US Congress (TX06) said today that she had won the endorsement of the Dallas AFL-CIO (American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations), the Dallas area branch of the largest federation of unions in the United States.

“Thank you Dallas AFL-CIO for endorsing my campaign. I am so completely honored to have the backing of the working women and men of Dallas and surrounding counties. As I told them, I will always stand with Working Families,” said Sanchez.

Sanchez is the granddaughter of migrant farm workers who settled in Ellis County in the 1950s. She credits excellent public school teachers in Waxahachie for her being able to go to Rice University, which she could afford thanks to federal financial aid, multiple scholarships and the support of family.

“My upbringing was humble and I was taught the value of hard work. My parents and my grandparents always worked very hard, but they never had the protections workers deserve. We have to change that, so prosperity is shared by all,” added Sanchez. Sanchez is running on a platform of better jobs for our high school graduates, well-funded public schools and affordable, universal healthcare as well as working across the aisle for the betterment of her district. Sanchez is also a strong proponent of Congressional term limits.

Randy Bryce Running to unseat Paul Ryan in Wisconsin

Randy Bryce is a U.S. Army veteran, cancer survivor, and union ironworker. He joined the race for Wisconsin’s 1st Congressional District because his values are our neighbors’ values, andWashington has gotten way off track. Randy was raised in southeastern Wisconsin, and went to public schools. After graduation, he enlisted in the U.S. Army, and was posted to Honduras, where he earned the Army Achievement Medal.

Once out of the army, he found his way to an apprenticeship as an iron worker, and has now been helping to build America for more than 20 years. He’s been active in Ironworkers Local 8, serving as political coordinator for the union, and until recently as a member of the Milwaukee Area Labor Council board of directors.

What Actually Cause the 2008 Financial Melt Down

Everyone remembers the financial collapse of Wall Street and most of the large banks and security firms in 2008. But very few of the average citizenry know how, why or even who actually caused it.

For years 'as far back as 1956, through lobbyist and a senators and congressmen, largely Republican congressmen and senators, who were actively courted by banks, with the goal of repealing the checks and balances, which some call useless regulations, which were intended to protect the citizens of our country. The regulations protected us from dangerous and predatory bank practices which led directly to the financial collapse of 2008! Because these rules and regulations were not in place directly contributed to the destruction and loss of the finances of thousands of American Citizens and brought our country to its knees!

It has been said that knowledge is power. Well, what is so amazing is the same folks who brought you the Wall Street and Big Bank melt-down in 2008 are now in the Whitehouse and control Congress and are talking about repealing all thesesafe-guards put in place after 2008 designed to contol the preditory and unethical practices of big banking!

The U.S. Government Cannot Be Run Like a Business

Harvard Business Review online written by Henry Mintzberg

Donald Trump ran his campaign with the promise to manage the U.S. government like a business. In fact, he just announced that his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, will head up a “SWAT team” dedicated to making this happen.

Trump assumes, as do many Americans, that the country’s major problem is too much government. In my view, the United States is not suffering from too much government so much as from too much business all over the government. This president came into office to challenge “the establishment,” only to ensconce the country’s powerful business establishment in his cabinet, at the expense of Washington’s weaker political establishment.

Should government even be run like a business, let alone by businesspeople? No more than business should be run like a government by civil servants. Each in its own place, thank you. Governments experience all kinds of pressures that cannot be imagined in many enterprises, especially the entrepreneurial kind run by Trump.

Consider this: Business has a convenient bottom line, called “profit,” which can readily be measured. What is the bottom line for terrorism: The number of countries on a list, or of immigrants deported, or of walls built? How about the number of attacks that don’t happen? Many activities are in the public sector precisely because their intricate results are difficult to measure.

Running government like a business has been tried again and again, only to fail again and again. In the 1960s, Robert McNamara introduced the Planning-Programming-Budgeting System as a “one-best-way,” businesslike approach to government. The obsessive measuring led to the infamous body counts of the Vietnam War. Later came new public management, a 1980s euphemism for old corporate managing: Isolate activities, put a manager in charge of each one, and hold them responsible for the measurable results. That might work for the state lottery, but how about foreign relations or education, let alone, dare I say, health care? People in government tell me that new public management is still promoted, though now it might better be called “old public management.”